At the risk of sounding pedantic... I'm really not, just... up to my elbows in yech on a much too stinky
boat and frustrated by an industry practice that has added days to this
repair for no reason.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peghall
And because all hoses have to be a match for the fittings they go onto, all MARINE hose nominal sizes are stated according to their IDs.
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I don't have any problem with a hose being sized by its ID. That's commonplace. Even pipe that is segregated based on the OD gets its nominal size from the ID of early prototype iron pipe.
But with most pipes, tubes, and hose that you meet in the wild, finding out it's nominal size, and thereby
purchasing a replacement is fairly easy. It's either written on the thing somewhere or, by measuring some aspect of it, can be found easily in some manufacturer published reference.
Being able to positively identify a hose size on one's
boat should not have to require measuring that hose's ID, because that would require shutting that system down. Maybe that would mean shutting it down long enough to remove the hose and measure and then reinstall the hose, or maybe as in my case that would mean shutting the system down until the replacement (which cannot be ordered without this information) arrives.
I say it
should not because there is no reason that it must except that the manufacturer has
decided to withhold this information. It's a practice I'm finding common in this particular industry and I'm not really sure why.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peghall
Why wouldn't the company put the hose size on the hose?
I'll let Shields answer that question.
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It isn't just Shields, and getting an answer from them would be interesting. Mainly because this is 100% a deliberate decision on their part. Shields publishes a catalog with all manner of hose information given for each product. They give the vac rating for each individual hose entry in this series even though they are all the same number. Yet they don't give the wall thickness or actual OD; either of which would let someone identify the nominal size of a hose they have on their boat or let someone determine if they have clearance for that hose through a bulkhead opening or whatever. That's information they have that they choose to withhold.
Of all things, this reminds me of the model train industry. The manufacturers are so beholden to their distributors that they intentionally make it difficult for customers to
work with them directly. The distributors eek out provisions that keep the manufacturer from selling to customers directly and often carve out exclusive territory. To get a particular locomotive once I was required to request a printed order form by mail. I had to mail the request (and return postage), the order form arrived a couple weeks later, I filled it out (WITH A PEN) and mailed it to them (with a check), and 7 weeks later the locomotive arrived. It was the wrong color but at that point I just repainted it. This was in 2015 by the way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by waterman46
No doubt the OP has a "3/4 inch" hose, but why can't he disconnect the upper end of the vent hose and try to insert a known size nipple into it to check?
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Because the last time I pulled a hose off its barb in this boat the last 3 inches disintegrated and I had to do without one of our heads for 3 days.
The sanitation plumbing in this boat already
breaths into the
cabin enough as it is, I don't plan to pull anything apart until I have its replacement in hand ready to go.
It actually is 7/8" hose, good call that. I know because I called the guy at West Marine and asked him what the OD of 5/8" Shields 148 and he said 7/8" then told me that the 3/4" hose has an OD of 1". When I asked where he found that information (and that I wasn't doubting him) he said you can't without measuring it but people come in asking so often they measured it and had it written down.
So now I'm ordering my all my future hose from West Marine. They are overcharging me to a criminal degree but their customer
service is incredible.